Barb Sickler

Reservations for the 53rd Annual Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet are now being taken. The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 10, at the Island Resort and Casino in Harris, located 15 miles west of Escanaba.

Banquet reservations are $40 per person. The evening begins with a social hour at 5 p.m. followed by a brief introduction and meal at 6 p.m. The induction ceremony follows dinner.

For more information or to reserve a seat, please call one of the following Council members: DeeJay Paquette at 906-387-4673, Dan Hinch at 906-458-8536, Don Gustafson at 906-298-0174, Cathy Shamion at 906-364-0961 or Anne Okonek at 906-280-2587. The deadline for making reservations for seats is April 23.

Council members encourage UPSHF inductees from previous years to join the celebration.

There is one inductee in the UPSHF Class of 2025 that hails from Houghton County. Barb Sickler began her coaching career at Lake Linden-Hubbell in 1964. At that time there were no girls high school sports teams – instead, there were three “Sport Days” allowed for girls by the MHSAA. From 1966-85 she was the head coach for both gymnastics and track and field at Lake Linden-Hubbell, guiding them to a Class D U.P. track championship in 1983 after finishing runner-up in 1982. Sickler was also responsible for training gymnastics judges in those early years and conducting her own track meets. Sickler was herself a volleyball referee and state-accredited gymnastics judge and was inducted into the first class of the Lake Linden-Hubble Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.  

The remaining nine UPSHF Class of 2025 inductees are James “Jamie” Angeli (Iron River), Nick Baumgartner (Iron River), Rachel (Folcik) McClure (Carney-Nadeau), Lesley (Noel) Delvaux (Escanaba), Jeff Olson (Ishpeming), Denise Porath (Escanaba), John Prokos (Escanaba), Jeannie Thoren (Marquette) and Dave St. Onge (Ishpeming).

A block of rooms has also been reserved for both Friday and Saturday nights for those interested in staying overnight. To book your room, call the Island at 1-800-682-6040 and tell them that you’re attending the U.P. Sports Hall of Fame banquet to obtain the special rate. Reservations for rooms must be made no later than March 29.

Do you know someone that should be considered for induction into the UP Sports Hall of Fame? Anyone can nominate a candidate for membership in the UPSHF by completing the nomination form that can be found on the UP Sports Hall of Fame website. Nominations are due by June 1 annually.